Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Alhaji Inusah Fuseini  says parliament would not be able to pass the Right to Information (RTI) bill before the house rises.

President Akufo Addo had called for the passage of the bill in March.

The house is expected to rise for the Easter break on Friday, March 23.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said cabinet has given approval for the bill to be laid and passed by parliament.

But the Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, says the president was not well-informed when he made that promise.

“I think that the president was not adequately informed of the calendar of parliament, that is why on 6th March he said that we will pass it in this sitting, we can’t pass it in this sitting,” Mr Inusa asserted.

“I have had discussions with the chairman [of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee], we have agreed that when the bill is laid, we will take it through the same procedure that we took the office of the special prosecutor bill through.”

He explained that there will be a stakeholder engagement for  two days in parliament to be followed by a two-day “consideration, clause by clause” at another venue probably outside the national capital, Accra.

“If it is laid before we rise, by the time we come back, the report will be ready. We are prepared to work during this break to ensure that the bill is ready.”

The RTI Bill is expected to make information easily accessible by the media and Ghanaians to boost the fight against corruption. The bill has been in and out of Parliament since 2003, because successive governments have failed to passed it into law.

Source:ghanaguardian.com